HomeClassic Paintball ScansThe Falcon Part 5: As pictured in PSI February, 1995

The Falcon Part 5: As pictured in PSI February, 1995

Last year, Tina “GoldenGirl” Ruzzo sent me a couple photos she re-shot out of the February 1995 issue of Paintball Sport International showing the Falcon Semi Automatic.  
The Falcon was the second generation of Marcus Neely’s advanced semi automatic “Legend” design, which he came up with while working at Montneel.  Find some of the history put together by Nick “hp_lovecraft” on the Legend archived on the wayback machine at:
https://web.archive.org/web/20080216043304/http://montneel.selfip.com/legend.html

I forgot about these photos of the Falcon until yesterday while looking through a couple magazines that came in the mail. I realized one of them was the February 1995 PSI so scanned the relevant pages.

Falcon engraving on right side of body.
Falcon engraving on right side of body. This Falcon came from Eric Scott, designer of the Phoenix and Father in Law of Rob Fox, partner in Falcon Guns Inc.

The Falcon appears three times in the February 1995 issue of PSI. The first is a new product write up, which only features a silhouette of the Falcon, since at the time the photo was submitted for the new product write up, I am assuming, the prototypes weren’t totally finished?

New products write up on the Falcon, scanned from the February 1995 issue of Paintball Sports International.
A new product ad for the Paintball Heaven / Falcon Distributors, Inc “Falcon,” scanned from the February 1995 issue of Paintball Sports International.

The back bottle pictured is a features that I haven’t seen on the several production models that survived, so I am imagining Rob Fox, Tom Fox or Marcus Neeley mocked up from a Phoenix back bottle onto the Phantom.  The regulator parts between the two are identical so it would likely work. On the production model Falcon’s the back valve body piece, which houses the regulator, features an 1/8th npt hole that takes the airline to the vertical asa.

The new product write up also mentions a “new patented anit-pinch feature.” This feature works by using a ram driven closed bolt that can vent if it encounters an opposing force/ obstruction on the forward motion.  
In the horrible video above I demonstrate this feature on Marcus Neely’s third generation of the design, the Guardian.
1. I am holding down the trigger (which keeps the breech open) and then I release the trigger to reset the switch and allow the bolt to come forward.
2. The bolt comes forward but hits my straight shot squeegee (an obstruction). It then vents before it’s can actually reset the switch.  
3. I pull the trigger again to open the bolt back up, the switch wasn’t reset so the dump valve doesn’t have any pressure to release.
I’ll have to check on this order of operation again next time I’m in Northern California and document it better. I’m not entirely sure if the complete forward motion on the ram in the top tube is what allows the dump valve to fill or if I am missing a step.
The main function of the anti chop is that blockage in the barrel prevents the bolt from resetting and prevents the Falcon / or Guardian from firing without clearing the blockage.

The second appearance is the only actual printed photo of the Falcon that “I’ve” been able to find, of Rob Fox, of Paintball Heaven as a Vendor at the 1994 World Cup. There is another photo which circulated online with Rob Fox, Tom Fox and Marcus Neely, but I haven’t been able to find the source magazine where that photo came from. 
That photo is pictured in article 2:
https://paintballhistory.com/the-falcon-part-2

Rob Fox, of Paintball Heaven and Falcon Inc. Rob is holding the Blue and Yellow Falcons. Scanned from a photo printed in the February 1995 issue of PSI.
Rob Fox, of Paintball Heaven and Falcon Distributors, Inc. Rob is holding the Blue and Yellow Falcons. Scanned from a photo printed in the February 1995 issue of Paintball Sports International magazine and taken by Jim Anderson.

This color photo of Rob Fox appeared in a photo spread by Capt. Bo Peep, Jim Anderson, which featured Fox, of Paintball Heaven, holding two Falcons, a blue model and a yellow model.

Blue Falcon, left side.
Blue Falcon received from Eric Scott of Southern Pneumatics. Left Side.

Production numbers on the Falcon vary.  I’ve heard around 5 and I’ve also heard upwards of 20, with many possibly sitting at the bottom of a lake.  If there were only three to five prototypes produced then that would make the Blue Falcon Rob is pictured with in the photo above the Falcon that ended up with Rob’s father in-law, Eric Scott, who then sold it to me.

Blue Falcon, Right Side
Blue Falcon received from Eric Scott of Southern Pneumatics. Right Side.

And it would likely make the Yellow Falcon the same paintgun which was residing at one point in the EMR museum but had gone missing by the time I visited in July 2009.

Vendors at the 1994 World Cup, pictured in the February 1995 issue of Paintball Sport International.
Vendors at the 1994 World Cup, pictured in the February 1995 issue of Paintball Sport International. Photos taken by Jim Anderson.

Above is the entire full page scan of Jim Anderson’s photos from the 1994 World Cup Vendors.

Falcon Advertisement scanned from October 1994 issue of PSI.
Falcon ad which appeared in several issue of Paintball Sports International. This scan was from the October 1994 issue of PSI.

And the third instance of the Falcon in the February 1995 issue of Paintball Sports International, is an advertisement which I posted in The Falcon Part 1.

Find more articles on the Falcon at:
https://paintballhistory.com/tag/falcon

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